England surprised us, says Lee

Brett Lee has admitted that Australia are a little bit surprised to be facing England in the one-day final. "We all watched the win against New Zealand; England played really, really well and I thought the way that they bowled was brilliant," he said.

"It's interesting playing them again and we're looking forward to it. They had us three or four or five times during the Test series, where they could have beaten us. We always managed to find a way out of it. Last time they beat us, so they'll be going in with plenty of confidence. It just goes to show what winning a match does."

Shane Watson, the all-rounder who missed the Ashes whitewash because of a hamstring tear, has been included in Australia's 13-man squad in place of Andrew Symonds, who has had surgery on his biceps-tendon injury. The quicks Stuart Clark and Shaun Tait were also omitted for the spinner Brad Hogg, although both remain in contention for the 15-man World Cup squad which will be named after the three-match series. "We know we've got to be at our best because England are very dangerous," said Watson, who also missed the 2003 World Cup with a back problem. "A few guys are really starting to put their hand up and perform."

New Zealand's captain Stephen Fleming also warned against ruling out England. "They've played a lot better in the last couple of games and I am sure that win over Australia has done them a hell of a lot of good," he said. "Australia will come at them pretty hard but if England continue bowling well and getting runs, why not? My money would have to be on Australia but I, like other people, like to see a contest and see guys under pressure."

New Zealand's preparation for the World Cup now involves a three-game home series against Australia starting tomorrow week in Wellington. "Six games would have been great," Fleming added. "Now we have to lick our wounds, cop a little bit at home and make sure we are strong enough to face Australia on our turf."